National news

NFL preseason’s big business for fans, TV

Broadcast audiences of more than 10 million highlight strength

By

SamMamudi

NEW YORK (MarketWatch) — Football preseason marks the end of one of the longest off-seasons in sports. From San Diego to Boston, it signals that summer’s almost over and that fall and winter are coming, culminating in the Super Bowl.

Football preseason is also big business. In almost all other sports, though, preseasons are low-key affairs for players and coaches to ease back into their routines. At most, they’re a chance for some fans to see their teams when they otherwise might not get the chance.

Reuters

Chicago Bears and New York Giants battled it out in a preseason game earlier this week.

Not so in the National Football League —where what amounts to a practice game is the highest-rated prime-time broadcast of the week with close to 11 million viewers. In addition, 75,000 people pay up for games in which starters only play in the first quarter.

It’s yet another testament to the popularity of the NFL and the stronghold it has on American sports. It also highlights the fact with so few games during the regular season, fans are eager for whatever football they can get.

Add in the August lull on TV, it makes for a potent combination.

NBC’s
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Sunday night broadcast of the San Diego Chargers vs. the Dallas Cowboys was watched by 10.7 million people. Meanwhile, Fox led the ratings last Thursday night, when about 8 million people watched the Philadelphia Eagles play the Pittsburgh Steelers.

“It really speaks to the popularity of the NFL,” said John Wildhack, executive vice president of programming at ESPN
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which has shown three preseason games so far this month.

This level of interest is remarkable given the uncompetitive nature of the games; in general, the teams don’t particularly care whether they win or lose. But unlike baseball, basketball or soccer, the physical nature of football means every game has an edge.

“Playing the game is always serious,” said Phil Simms, former quarterback for the New York Giants and now a commentator for CBS Sports
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“It’s like boxing — you can’t take it easy when you’re out there. You have to play your best and protect yourself.”

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The league’s structure also boosts its preseason appeal. With only 16 regular-season games (that’s just eight homes games a year) and broad revenue-sharing, the NFL does more to create anticipation in the sports scene. Preseason games carry greater meaning given how few are played, and in a league with great parity, it can be a chance for hopeful fans to evaluate their teams ahead of the real contests.

“There’s so much at stake,” added ESPN’s Wildhack. “Teams that start the season 0-2 rarely make the playoffs.”

There’s a similar sentiment on the field. Bill Cowher, a Super Bowl-winning head coach with the Steelers, said he didn’t mind losing so long as his players were learning and playing well.

“If you lose a close game and your starters play pretty well, that’s OK,” he commented. “You keep an eye out for trends, like if your starters can’t convert on third downs or your defense can’t stop the first series. It’s about assessing where the team is.”

Relative appeal

Nevertheless, demand for preseason games is still off that seen for regular-season matchups.

On the secondary ticket-selling site StubHub, for example, most preseason games to date have had thousands of tickets on sale for $15 or less. Five games — including the now-notorious Oakland Raiders vs. San Francisco 49ers contest that was marred by fights and shootings — saw more than 10,000 tickets sold, which was slightly higher than most regular-season games, likely due to the lower prices.

It’s also likely that many of those tickets are sold by season-ticket holders, who are forced to pay for preseason games as part of their packages. The crowd figure of 75,000 recorded for the Chicago Bears vs. New York Giants on Monday was based on “tickets sold,” which includes those season-ticket holders. The Giants did not reveal actual attendance at the game.

The outsize TV ratings should also be seen in context. Though high for August, they pale when compared with the average of close to 20 million viewers who watched regular-season games on Fox last year, and the 18 million viewers on average who saw each regular-season game on CBS.

ESPN’s average of 5 million viewers this preseason, while up 6% from last summer, is a fraction of its usual Monday Night Football audience of nearly 15 million.

One TV executive said prices for ads during preseason games were lower, and that many slots were filled by bundling the games into packages sold to regular-season advertisers. Another network official said bundling the preseason games was part of how his network sold ads for the games.

In other words, for advertisers, much like for fans, the preseason is what it is because of the regular-season juggernaut: a month-long series of exhibition games that glow from the halo of the NFL.

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